Chapter- 2 Is This Really Her?
1096 Words
Elena realized too late that the "White Rabbit" candy wasn't just a snack, and the boy in the park wasn't just a stranger. He was a hurricane. And she was standing right in the eye of it.
The reveal of Sabrina and the truth about Lola’s hospital bills changed everything. It wasn't a romance anymore; it was a debt. And in Elena’s world, debts were things you paid back with your soul.
As she walked out of that library, the cold wind hitting her face, she knew one thing: Nicko Alcasid didn't just want her memory. He wanted her future.I didn't look back. Even when I heard Nicko call my name. Even when I heard Sabrina’s high-pitched laughter echoing in the marble hallway.
I ran until my lungs burned, until I was back in the "safe" shadows of the public ward where my Lola slept.
"Elena? Apo, bakit ka humihingal?"
Lola's voice was weak, but her eyes were sharp. She reached out a trembling hand, and I grabbed it like a lifeline.
"Wala po, La. Nag-stairs lang po ako," I lied. The weight of the silver key in my pocket felt like a hot coal.
"May lumapit ditong lalaki kanina," she whispered, her gaze drifting to the bouquet of expensive white lilies on the side table. "Sabi niya, h’wag daw akong mag-alala. Bayad na raw ang lahat."
My heart dropped. He was already here. While I was sleeping in the clinic, he was marking his territory.
"La... kilala niyo ba siya?"
Lola stayed silent for a long time. She looked at the lilies, then back at me. "Hindi. Pero ang mga mata niya... parang nakita ko na nung bata ka pa. Yung batang umiiyak sa park."
So she remembered. She remembered, and she never told me.
Suddenly, my phone buzzed. A message from Nicko.
"I know you're at the ward. Look out the window."
I walked slowly to the glass. Down in the parking lot, leaning against a black sports car that cost more than our entire neighborhood, stood Nicko. He was looking straight up at me.
He didn't wave. He didn't smile. He just raised his phone to his ear.
My phone rang. I answered.
"Anong kailangan mo, Nicko?" I hissed into the receiver.
"I told you, Elena. This is the sequel," his voice was steady, possessive. "Sabrina is going to try to destroy you. My father is going to try to buy you. But they both forgot one thing."
"Ano?"
"I own the hospital, Elena. But you? You own the owner."
I gripped the phone so hard my knuckles turned white.
"Hindi ako laruan, Nicko."
"I know. You're the girl who fixes broken hearts, remember?" He looked up, the moonlight making him look like a dark angel. "Prepare yourself, Elena Magdallena. Tomorrow, you start your internship in the VIP Wing. Under my direct supervision."
Click. ***
VIP Wing? Direct supervision? I leaned my forehead against the cold glass. This wasn't a dream anymore. This was a trap.
He was right. This was just the beginning.
And in this story, I didn't know if I was the lead actress... or the prize in a very dangerous game.
The hallway was empty, save for the hum of the air conditioning. I watched the droplets race down the glass, blurred and frantic.
Just like me.
"Natatandaan mo ba kung anong sinabi mo sa akin nung unang beses tayong nagkita sa ilalim ng ulan?"
Nicko’s voice was right behind my ear. I didn't turn around. I didn't have to. I could feel the heat radiating from his body, cutting through the chill of my damp uniform.
"Sabi ko... 'Lakas ng ulan, noh?'" I whispered.
"No. Before that. Ten years ago."
I closed my eyes, trying to block out the memory, but the sound of the thunder outside was like a key turning in a lock.
FLASHBACK: 2008
The Narra tree offered little protection. I was shivering, holding my mud-stained drawing. The boy—Nicko—was shaking harder than I was.
"Don't cry," I had said, my eight-year-old voice small but firm. "The rain is just the sky cleaning itself. My Lola says that after the rain, everything grows back stronger."
I had reached out and wiped a muddy tear from his cheek.
"Is that why you're a doctor in your drawing?" he asked.
"I'm going to fix hearts, Nicko. So they don't have to cry anymore."
PRESENT DAY
"Everything grows back stronger," Nicko repeated, his voice thick with an emotion he usually kept hidden behind his billionaire persona.
He placed his hands on the window on either side of my head, effectively trapping me against the glass. The scent of rain was still on him, mixed with that sharp, clean mint.
"Look at the garden, Elena."
I looked down. Below the VIP wing was a private courtyard. Even in the middle of the storm, the flowers were vibrant, held up by expensive stakes and protected by a glass canopy.
"You're not that girl in the mud anymore," he murmured, his breath hitting the back of my neck. "And I’m not that crying boy. But the rain... it still feels the same, doesn't it?"
I couldn't breathe. My heart was a bird trapped in a cage, beating its wings against my ribs.
"Nicko, stop," I turned around, my chest brushing against his. "Hindi pwedeng maging ganito. My Lola is sick, Sabrina is watching, and your father—"
"My father is the one who made it rain, Elena," Nicko’s eyes darkened, turning as stormy as the sky outside. "But I’m the one who decides when it stops."
He leaned in, his forehead resting against mine. Outside, a flash of lightning illuminated the room, casting his shadow long and jagged against the wall.
"The rain brought you back to me. Do you really think I’m going to let you go just because it’s getting a little cold?"
I wanted to push him away. I wanted to run.
But then, his hand found mine—and in his palm, he was holding a single, crumpled White Rabbit candy wrapper.
The rain outside intensified, a roar of white noise that drowned out the rest of the world.
"Elena... fixed my heart once. Now, let me protect yours."
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